• Crypto market slides as total value locked in defi falls below $50 billion mark
• Smart contract token economy and value locked in defi dip
• Ethereum has the largest TVL out of all blockchains

Crypto Market Slides

The crypto market has started to slide again after a bullish run-up over the last seven weeks. The total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has slipped below the $50 billion mark to $49.8 billion, with a decrease of 2.24% over the last 24 hours. The smart contract token economy is valued at $326.11 billion, but lost 3.7% against the U.S dollar during this same period.

Ethereum Dominates Defi

Ethereum currently dominates the TVL in defi by 58.45%. Other blockchains such as Tron, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Arbitrum, and Polygon make up 10.64%, 10.01%, 3.89%, and 2.36% respectively, totaling 85.35%. Lido liquid staking protocol holds 18.03% of this amount with a current value of around $8.75 billion, increasing 8.43% over the past month alone. Uniswap had the second largest 30-day increase with 6

• Prosecutors in a financial fraud case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried are attempting to persuade the judge to restrict his use of electronic devices.
• It has been revealed that SBF used a virtual private network (VPN) to watch the Super Bowl through a foreign subscription service he had purchased before his arrest.
• Prosecutors are skeptical and argue that VPNs are commonly used to access international crypto exchanges that are blocked in the United States.

Prosecutors Seek Restrictions on Former FTX CEO’s Electronic Devices

Prosecutors in the financial fraud case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) are attempting to persuade the judge to restrict his use of electronic devices.

Revelations of VPN Use

It has been revealed that SBF used a virtual private network (VPN) to watch the Super Bowl through a foreign subscription service he had purchased before his arrest.

Government Skepticism Over VPN Use

Prosecutors, however, are skeptical and argue that VPNs are commonly used to access international crypto exchanges that are blocked in the United States. They have raised concerns over SBF’s use of a VPN and argued that some individuals use them „to conceal the fact that they are accessing international cryptocurrency exchanges.“

Defense Team Argues VPN Use Was for Harmless Purposes

The defense team, however, argues that SBF only used it for harmless purposes—namely watching football games via an NFL Game Pass international subscription he had previously purchased when living abroad. Judge Lewis Kaplan is considering whether or not to change SBF’s bail conditions as prosecutors have complained about his use of a VPN.

Judge Considers Restricting Electronic Device Use

The court has already prohibited SBF from using end-to-end encrypted messaging services like Signal, and Everdell and Cohen have stated that SBF will not be using a VPN until Judge Kaplan makes a decision regarding restrictions on electronic device usage.

• Coin Cloud, one of the largest crypto ATM operators, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week.
• The company’s largest creditor is Genesis Global Trading, whose parent company recently filed for bankruptcy.
• Coin Cloud’s estimated assets range between $50 million and $100 million while its total liabilities fall between $100 million and $500 million.

Coin Cloud Files for Bankruptcy

One of the largest cryptocurrency ATM operators, Coin Cloud, which claims to operate more than 5,000 crypto ATMs, has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. The company’s largest creditor is Genesis Global Trading, whose parent company also recently filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Cash Cloud Inc., a digital asset ATM operator doing business as Coin Cloud, voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday. In its filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court for the District of Nevada, Coin Cloud declared an estimated number of creditors of between 5,000 and 10,000.

Estimated Assets & Liabilities

In addition, the company estimated that its total assets range between $50 million and $100 million while its total liabilities fall between $100 million and $500 million. Crypto lender Genesis Global Trading Inc. is listed as Coin Cloud’s largest unsecured creditor, with a total claim of $116,353

• Binance and Mastercard have partnered to launch a prepaid crypto-linked card in Brazil as part of Binance’s expansion plans in Latam.
• The Binance card features 8% cashback for eligible purchases and supports on-the-fly conversion of 13 cryptocurrencies to make payments to local merchants.
• This move is part of the efforts that the exchange is making to expand its footprint in Latam and encourage wider crypto use and global adoption.

Binance & Mastercard Launch Crypto Prepaid Card

Binance, a leading cryptocurrency exchange by volume traded, has announced the launch of its Binance card in Brazil, a product that will allow crypto users to make payments in crypto to legacy merchants. Backed by Mastercard, this prepaid crypto-linked card will enable registered customers of the exchange from all over Brazil to make crypto payments with 13 supported cryptocurrencies, including on-the-fly conversions to the Brazilian real.

Features of the Card

The Binance card features 8% cashback for eligible purchases and supports on-the-fly conversion of 13 cryptocurrencies to make payments to local merchants. Payments made with fiat currency using the prepaid card will be fee-free; however, payments involving crypto-to-fiat conversions will have a 0.9% fee.

Expansion Plans in Latam

This move is part of the efforts that the exchange is making to expand its footprint in Latam and encourage wider crypto use and global adoption. The release of this product comes as no surprise as Matthew Shroder, global vice president and regional director at Binance had stated in September that Brazil was one of the top upcoming markets for launching a prepaid card in Latam.

Encouraging Wider Crypto Use

For Binance, there is room for crypto to keep growing in the payments area – being Brazil one of the biggest payment hubs on the continent – thus their interest for bringing these services into country clear. According Guilherme Nazar (general manager at BInance for Brazil): „Payments is one of the first and most obvious use cases for crypto yet adoption has lot room grow“. He believes that „The BInance Card is significant step encouraging wider crypto use and global adoption“ due openess Brazilian people innovation which makes country great market this release“.

Conclusion

Backed by Mastercard, this new product launched by BInance promises revolutionize way people pay Latin America allowing them access wide range cryptocurrencies enabling them pay legacy merchants hassle free while also offering important benefits like 8% cashback eligible purchases which sure attract customers towards it.